New Vice President of Finance Christine Casey speaks at a reception in her honor. (Stuart Palley)

A reception welcoming the newly appointed Vice President of Finance Christine Casey was held yesterday in the Umphrey Lee Ballroom.

As the reception began, the piano played lightly while SMU faculty and staff proceeded to greet President R. Gerald Turner and his wife, as well as Christine Casey and her family.

Among the attendees were President of the Faculty Senate Gary Evans, Hunt Scholar Coordinator Rose Torres, Statistics Department Chair Wayne Woodward, Director of Institutional Research John Kalb, Student Body President Katherine Tullos and the Chair of the Math Department Peter Moore.

Once refreshments were served, President Turner began joking about the reception being the third and last for SMU’s three new appointments. The previous two were for Vice President of Student Affairs Laurie White and Provost Paul Ludden. Turner then commented on Casey.

“Her parents are still bankers and so she comes from a long family who know how to count money,” President Turner said.

After President Turner’s introduction, Casey described her excitement about joining SMU.

“I’m very glad to be here at SMU,” she said. “So far I’ve been very impressed with the caliber of people here and with the overall mood on campus.”

President Turner continued to speak fondly of Casey.

“We already know she works extremely well under stress and we can’t wait to continue working with her,” he said.

The reception came to a close when Casey, her daughter and Jacobsen were given gifts. A sweatshirt, t-shirt and hat all bearing the mustang in SMU colors were exchanged respectively between SMU and the new Vice President of Finance.

“I can’t wait to do positive things on such a proactive campus,” Casey said.

Jerusalem, says Zevadia, is a cultural center for the Christian faith, as well as Muslims.

After visiting, people from all over the world, including the U.S., move to settle in Israel.

“Everything you see in this country, you will see in Israel,” said Zevadia. “Tel Aviv is like New York with a beach.”

Zevadia was born in the Ambovar village in the Gondar region of Ethiopia, and immigrated to Israel in 1994. She has served as a counselor in the Religious Affairs Bureau at the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, and briefly in the Israeli Delegation to the United Nations.